Heroes of Olympus: 13 Years Later
by Team Leo and Nico
Summary: It's been 13 years since the war against Gaea and a new generation of heroes are in the making. And with a new generation comes new dangers that no demigod wants to face alone. (OC)
1. Chapter 1: Emma

I stood atop of the hill looking down at camp half-blood. To the two other campers I was standing with I seemed calm and collected. On the inside I was freaking out.

Three hours ago Chiron had told me that Rachel Dare had given a prophecy to Bailey Mackenzie, Mr D's thirteen year old son. He then told me that he required a child of Apollo and a child of Athena to accompany him on the quest. I was the child of Athena. At first I was excited, I had wanted to go on a quest since I had arrived at camp four years ago. But then I remembered that the last campers that went on a quest never came back and that was over two months ago. If I'm honest thinking about the previous campers scared me, what if the same thing happened to us.

I turned to look at the two boys standing with me. We were a strange trio for a quest. Theo Mendoza was a son of Apollo and one of the nicest people at camp half-blood; he got along with everyone even the kids from the Ares cabin. He had been at camp for almost seven years and according to Chiron he was one of the best archers the camp had had in a long time. He looked like a Latino god with his dark wavy hair and golden eyes that shone like the sun, literally.

Bailey on the other hand was a different story. He had only been at camp about a year (he was an all year round camper) and kept himself to himself. He joined in with training but never capture the flag and anytime someone did talk to him he always answered very carefully, almost like he thought they would start beating him up if he said the wrong thing. He wasn't particularly tall for his age and had messy dusty blond hair and deep purple eyes. He was very skinny meaning his camp T-shirt looked like it was two sizes too big. Mr D was also very protective over him; his son's name was the only one that the god actually got right.

'We should get going.' Theo said as he started to walk down the hill towards Argus and the car. Bailey followed him but I didn't move. I didn't want to say goodbye to camp. I knew I was being silly, Chiron wouldn't have sent me on the quest if he didn't think I was capable. But still, not knowing what the prophecy actually said made me nervous.

'Emma, you coming or not?' Theo shouted to me. I looked to see him and Bailey standing by the car. Theo had a massive grin on his face like this quest was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Bailey on the other hand was looking at the ground like the grass was the most interesting thing on the planet.

I sighed and put all the scared thoughts to the back of my head. 'Yeah' I said my excitement starting to come back. 'Let's do this quest.' The three of us and Argus climbed into the car and set off on the start of our journey.

By the time we reached New York it was dark but I didn't mean the streets were any less busy. I wondered where Argus was taking us; we drove through the whole city and were now driving down a road in the middle of nowhere. When we finally stopped it was almost midnight and we were still in the middle of nowhere.

'Where are we?' Theo asked Argus as we climbed out of the car. He didn't say anything and drove of leaving us with no clue as to what to do next.

We all stood in silence looking around looking for any clue as to where we were.

'So what do we do now?' Theo finally said.

I was about to say we should set up a camp for the night but then we heard something roar behind us. It was so load it shook the trees. We all turned round to the direction it had come from, I could hear something very large and very angry running towards up.

'I think the best thing to do right now would be to run.' I said.

'Agreed' Theo said. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bailey nod.

The three of us ran into the forest that stood on each side of the road. We were just inside the tree line when I glanced back only to see the Minotaur burst through the trees on the other side of the road.


	2. Chapter 2: Theo

I can't say I wasn't scared of the Minotaur that was chasing us, because I was. It was huge and looked like it was in the mood to kill a few demigods.

We ran at full speed through the forest trying to lose the monster but it was no use. It had seen us and wasn't going to stop until all three of us were dead. It didn't matter how many times we changed direction, we were going to have to fight it.

I turned to look at Emma who was running a little behind me, hoping she had a plan. I knew she would come up with a plan, she was the smartest girl at camp, I just hoped that she wouldn't take too long. The Minotaur was catching up fast.

We continued running for another minute or so before Emma screamed 'I know what to do!'

'What?' I yelled back at her.

'I don't suppose you have any Greek fire arrows available, do you?' she asked me.

I almost wanted to laugh; of course I had Greek fire arrows available, I had every type of arrow available. I reached into my quiver, a gift from my father, and pulled out a celestial bronze tipped arrow. Everyone knew of Leo Valdez's tool bet, well my quiver worked in the same way. It looked like a normal arrow but I wasn't. Inside the tip of the arrow was the dangerous green liquid of Greek fire, when a monster was hit with an arrow like that they had no chance.

When Emma saw the arrow she told us her plan. It was a simple one but if I messed up then we were all dead. The plan was that Emma and Bailey would keep the Minotaur distracted whilst I shot it with my arrow. Emma said I need to aim for the neck it was the monster's weakest point.

We set the plan in motion straight away. I veered off to the left whilst Emma and Bailey discussed how they were going to distract the Minotaur. I hid behind a tree and watched as the two of them stopped running when they entered a clearing, and turned to face the direction they had just come.

I could hear the Minotaur as it got closer, I wasn't running anymore, I was walking, stalking its prey.

I mounted my bow and arrow whilst I waited for then monster to enter the clearing. I didn't have to wait long, although the Minotaur was walking its steps were huge, I reached Emma and Bailey in less than a minute.

From my hiding place I saw Emma draw her dagger from its holder. Bailey drew his sword also, the small skinny boy looked very strange with the weapon in his hands, I was certain the sword weighed more than he did.

As soon as the Minotaur entered the clearing Emma and Bailey ran at it slashing at its legs. They weren't doing much damage, they were only really annoying the monster. It swung it arms around trying to knock the two of them over but the both kept dodging.

Knowing that the monster would now not pay me any attention I crept up behind it and levelled my arrow so it was aimed at its neck. I was about to shoot when I heard Emma scream. The Minotaur had knocked Emma down, I could see her slumped against a tree barely conscious. Bailey obviously didn't know whether to go to Emma or continue attacking the beast. He took too long to decide and in his momentary distraction the Minotaur grabbed him round the waist and lifted him of the ground.

_This isn't good_, I thought to myself. I couldn't shoot my arrow at the Minotaur now because it would probably kill Bailey as well. I had to think quickly, I could see that Bailey was getting crushed by the large hand that was wrapped around him. He had dropped his sword so all he could do way try not to throw up as the Minotaur shock him about.

I racked my brain for an idea but I had no clue what to do. I looked over to Emma who was now propped up against the trunk of the tree. She had a trickle of blood running down the side of her face but she look conscious enough. She looked at me then pointed to her hand.

Suddenly, I had my light bulb moment and I knew what to do.

I swapped my Greek fire arrow for just a regular celestial bronze arrow and tried to aim it at the Minotaur's hand. But I couldn't because it kept moving. This was a nightmare, Bailey was about to get crushed to death and then Emma and I would follow.

I kept trying to aim my arrow but it wasn't working. I was just about to take a random shot and hope for the best when the Minotaur suddenly stopped, it just froze and was looking at Bailey, its head tilted to the side.

I didn't understand what was happening but I didn't wait to see what would happen next. I took my shot and the arrow flew straight into the large hand that was crushing Bailey. The Minotaur roared and realised Bailey who fell to the ground landing on his sword.

Not wasting any time, I quickly mounted my Greek fire arrow again and shot at the monsters neck. Emma was worried the Minotaur might move. I wasn't. The arrows were made by the Hephaestus campers meaning not only did they contain the most deadly fire know to demigod, they also flew at breakneck speed.

It was over so quickly the Minotaur didn't even have time to turn his head, as soon as the arrow hit it exploded in and eruption of green flames. In less than a second there was nothing but a pile of gold dust that was sinking slowly into the ground.


	3. Chapter 3: Bailey

I tried to ignore the pain in my left leg as I limped over to Theo and Emma. When the Minotaur had dropped me I landed on my sword and in the process cut my leg. It wasn't that bad, nothing a little nectar or ambrosia couldn't fix, but after invading the mind of the Minotaur I was already weak and the cut leg just made it worse.

I carefully sat down next to Theo who was rummaging in Emma's backpack obviously looking for some nectar for her. She had fallen unconscious and had a large cut on her forehead from where she had hit the tree.

Theo found the nectar and cheered in delight. He fed it to her and then began singing the healing song every Apollo kid knew. I myself took a small bite of ambrosia and started to feel better straight away. The cut was nearly gone when Emma woke up; all that was left was the slice in my trousers.

When the wound on Emma's head was no longer visible Theo helped her to her feet. 'Are you okay to walk?' he asked her.

She said she was, but she was still pale and stumbled every few steps. She still carried on, dagger out in front of her in case we ran into anymore monsters that night. Theo walked besides her making sure she didn't fall over when she stumbled.

I picked up my sword and stared at the pair of them as they walked back the way we came. It was obvious neither of them really cared about me, I could tell that by the fact that neither of them bothered to ask if I was okay. I don't know why I expected any different though, in my whole life not one person has properly cared about me, not even my mum.

I pushed that thought to the back of my head as I started to follow Emma and Theo. My mum was dead, I didn't matter that she was the world's worst mum because she wasn't anymore. She's dead and I'm better off without her.

By the time I caught up with Theo and Emma they were already back at the road. It was the same place Argus had dropped us off and nothing had changed. It was still just an empty road in the middle of nowhere.

I had no idea what to do next but I wasn't in the mood to stand around. Without saying a word I started to walk down heading in the direction away from camp. I didn't look back to see if Emma and Theo were following, I knew they would if neither of them came up with a plan. They had to follow me I was the only one out of the three of us who knew the prophecy; they couldn't continue the quest without me.

We walked for about two hours, and at some point it had stated to rain. We were all cold, tired and hungry but there was nowhere to camp along the road side and after the fight with the Minotaur none of us wanted to venture back into the forest. Silently we all made the same decision to keep going until we came across somewhere that had a roof and walls.

It must have been three in the morning when we finally came across a little shop at the road side. The sign above the door said L's Candy Store, but when I read it the first time I thought it said LS Cady Shore. _Stupid dyslexia._

We stood outside the shop for nearly ten minutes deciding what to do. Not one of us wanted to continue walking but all the lights were of in the shop.

'Maybe we should just knock,' Theo finally said after standing in silence for a few more minutes.

'No one's going to be in a candy store at three in the morning,' Emma replied.

'They could be if their house is attached to it. Before I came to camp half blood my mom owned a charity store. She, my brother and I lived in a room behind it.'

'Okay then Theo, you go and knock,' Emma said crossing her arms.

Theo nodded and walked up the porch steps to the door. Emma and I followed but didn't climb the steps. Closer up I could see that there was a doorbell meaning someone probably did live in their sweet shop.

Theo slug his bow over his shoulder and was about to press the doorbell when the lights in the shop suddenly turned on. All three of us took a step back as the door opened and a woman came to stand on the porch.

The woman was beautiful; she has long golden hair and chocolate coloured eyes. She was wearing a pink silk dressing gown, which reached the floor, tied together with what seemed to be a snake skin.

She looked at us each in turn and smiled when her eyes rested on me. Emma noticed this as well and pushed me behind her, her hand resting on the handle of her dagger.

'Look at you three,' the woman kept looking at me as she spoke, 'you all look like you could do with some food and good rest. Please come in.' The woman took hold of Theo's hand and pulled him to the shop.

I began to follow but Emma but her hand on my chest to stop me. She turned to face me and said. 'I don't trust this woman, there's something off about her.'

I glanced past Emma into the shop, I could no longer see Thro or the woman but the door was still wide open with light shining out into the rain.

'Listen to me Bailey,' Emma continued, 'do whatever I say in there, understand.' I nodded and the two of us went into the shop.

The pair of us walked straight through the actual shop and went into the back room. The woman was there laying food on the table but Theo was no.

'Where's Theo?' Emma asked.

'Who?' The woman said in a sickly sweet voice not looking up from the table.

'Theo, our friend, the boy you pulled in here.' There was spitefulness in Emma's voice.

'Oh yes, he has just popped to the bathroom, he'll be back in a minute. Now why don't you two sit down and enjoy the food I have prepared.' The woman wandered into what I thought must be the kitchen and left Emma and I alone.

We both sat down at the table but neither on us touched the food. I understood what Emma was talking about outside, there was definitely something strange about her. I mean who has dinner prepared at three in the morning.

I looked at Emma who was scanning the room; it seemed she was looking for something. Her eyes fell on an old styled suitcase. Not even checking to see if the woman was coming back Emma went over to the case and opened it. From where I was sat I couldn't see what was inside but it made Emma gasp.

Curious, I got up and went to have a look. I gasped myself when I saw what was inside. Bones, loads of them. Emma picked one up and held it against my arm.

'Oh no,' she said in a whisper.

'What?' I asked her just as quietly.

She looked up at me shocked, probably because I had actually spoken. The initial surprise passed quickly. 'These are children's bones,' she said still holding one to my arm. 'Do you know what this means?'

I shook my head. Not only the suitcase of child sized bones but the worried look in Emma's eyes was starting to scare me.

'It means that that woman is Lamia,' Emma continued, 'and if we don't get out of here quickly she'll eat us all.'


	4. Chapter 4: Emma

I wanted to run. I wanted to run and not stop running until we were as far away from Lamia as possible. I wanted to run right now. But I couldn't, not without Theo.

I told Bailey to go. Him being the youngest meant that Lamia would probably go after him first. I told him to run a mile down the road and to wait for us. I could tell he didn't want to leave but he said he would do what I say. He was halfway out the door when the woman came back in.

Bailey froze and I silently swore. Lamia was holding a plate of chocolate chip cookies, the smile she had on her face before was gone. She slammed the plate on the table.

'What are you doing?' she asked to Bailey.

'I was... um... going to the loo.' Bailey stammered. I was still a little shocked by his accent. When he first spoke I couldn't really hear it but now I could. His British accent was as clear as daylight.

'But your friend is using the bathroom at the moment,' the smile was back on Lamia's face as she walked over to Bailey. 'You'll just have to wait until he gets back.'

She put her hands on his shoulders and was about to guided him over to the table when she laid her eyes on me. The smile fell from her face when she looked down at my hand. Too late I realised that I was still holding the bone. I quickly dropped it and pulled out my dagger.  
Lamia didn't do anything. She just stood there staring at me with a blank look. She must have known we knew who she was so I didn't understand why she wasn't doing anything. She was just standing there with her hands on Bailey's shoulders.

We stood there staring at each other for nearly two minutes before Lamia moved. She didn't attack or try to kill us; she just turned Bailey round to face her and pushed his hair off his face. She started to stroke his cheek with her thumb and whispered, 'such a handsome boy.'Bailey tried to pull away but Lamia just grabbed his wrist.

Suddenly the whole room went cold. I raised my dagger and took a step towards Lamia. She didn't notice, she was too busy struggling with Bailey. The kind expression she had before was gone and had been replaced with frustration. She didn't normally have prey that fought against her.

'Let go,' Bailey yelled trying to pull away from Lamia's vice like grip.

'I haven't had a meal in months,' she replied her voice now harsh and raspy. 'Demigods never taste as nice as mortal children but I'm hungry so you, boy, will do. If I'm lucky you'll be sweeter than some of the other half-bloods if have eaten, with your father being Dionysus and all.'

I slowly edged my way towards the pair as they struggled. As I got closer Lamia suddenly got stronger and pulled Bailey close to her. She grabbed his face and leaned down so she was eye to eye with him. She whispered something to him that I didn't hear and quickly spun him round so he was in a position where his neck was exposed. I saw a knife drop from the sleeve of Lamia's bathrobe. She was going to slice his throat.

I didn't have time to come up with a plan. Without even thinking about it I ran at Lamia and stabbed her in the arm. The shock of it made her release Bailey. As she screamed out in pain I judo kicked her, making her fall and drop her knife.

'Go! Run Bailey!' I screamed, 'you're the one she's after, Go!'

The British boy didn't hesitate. He quickly got up and ran out of the door. I didn't watch to make sure he had done what I told him earlier, I was too busy with Lamia. She was already on her feet, knife in hand, with an evil grin on her face. I lunged at her but she was fast, she dodged out of the way and tried to slice me. However I was also fast, she missed by a mile. We kept at this game of lunge and dodge for what felt like hours but it could only have been a few minutes.

I could tell Lamia was getting tired when she said. 'Give up girl. You know I will defeat you in the end. And then you will be my breakfast.'

'Sorry, demigods are not on the menu.'

I lunged at her again. I caught her off guard and was able to stab her in the stomach. I let go of my dagger and backed away as Lamia looked at me. She was about to say something but before she could she burst into dust and sank back into the underworld, where she belonged.

My dagger fell to the floor and so did I. I was exhausted. Two fights in one night was hard work. I sat of the floor for a bit but I knew I had to get up. Even if I felt like falling asleep on the spot, Bailey was out there on his own meaning he was very vulnerable and Theo was... Theo! I had no idea where Theo was. What had Lamia done with him?

I shot up and ran through the door Lamia had come through with the cookies. I found myself in a kitchen but there was no sight of Theo. I called his name but I got no reply. I called it again, desperate to find him and this time I heard something, a very quiet, slightly muffled yell. I turned to the direction it came from but there was only a plain wall.

Theo!' I yelled again just to make sure the noise was coming from the wall. It was. _There must be hidden room_, I thought to myself.

Up close I couldn't see the way to open it but when I looked from farther away I could see it. It was a tiny square that was only just visible. I pushed the square in and the wall slid open. I yelled in delight when I saw Theo. He was tied up and gagged but he looked alright, he was alive, that was the main thing.

I took the gag out of his mouth and gave him a hug. 'I'm so glad you're okay,' I said. 'I thought she had eaten you or something.'

'What?' Theo replied as I untied his hands.

'Basically,' I said as I knelt back on my knees, 'we just fought a child eating monster called Lamia.'

'Oh' Theo looked a little shocked. He rubbed his wrists which were red and obviously sore from the ropes he was tied with. 'I'm guessing you didn't get eaten then.'

'No but she almost had Bailey for breakfast.'

Theo looked around. 'Where is Bailey?' he asked.

My heart felt like it stopped for a second. I had found Theo and completely forgotten about Bailey. He was out on the road on his own, anything could attack him. Theo looked just as worried as I felt.

'We've got to go,' I said helping Theo up. 'I told him to run and now he's out there on his own.'

We didn't hang around. Quickly Theo and I found his bow and arrows and ran out the door and down the road hoping Bailey had not got into anymore trouble.


	5. Chapter 5: Theo

If getting dragged into a candy store, over powered and tied up in the space of about thirty seconds isn't one way to make you feel completely useless then I don't know what is. Whilst Emma and Bailey were fighting a child eating monster lady, I was tied up in a wall not doing anything except wondering where the light was coming from.

As we walked along the road to find Bailey, Emma told me the whole story. Hearing it made me feel even worse. She had fought Lamia single handed and I did nothing to help.  
She could tell I was feeling bad about it because she said, 'Hey, don't look so annoyed, you took the Minotaur down by yourself.'

'No I didn't,' I replied, 'if Bailey hadn't done some weird mind thing there was no way I could have done it.'

We stopped walking Emma punched me hard on the arm. 'Stop feeling sorry for yourself. We need you on this quest. So what if Lamia over powered you, it would've happened to me if I was the one she grabbed. Without you we would already be dead. So just suck it up and help me find Bailey.'

After she said I felt better. I still felt embarrassed but not as useless. I smiled at her and we started down the road again. We walked for nearly thirty minutes before we came across Bailey leaning against a tree, which was covered in fresh grape vines. When he saw us he walked away from the tree. All the grapes and vines started to wither and die, Bailey didn't even seem to notice.

'Are you okay?' Emma asked him.

He nodded and said, 'what about you?'

Before Emma could even answer I interrupted. 'Wait a minute, your British.'

'Yes,' he replied looking down at the ground.

Emma wouldn't let me ask any more questions. She assured Bailey that we were both alright and then told us that we needed to rest. She said we would have to put up with the forest because none of us really wanted to walk anymore. And we all had the fear that a monster could own the next place we stopped at. Without even discussing it the three of us headed into the forest again. I can't say I was happy about it but I didn't complain.

I didn't walk for long before we stopped and set up camp. It wasn't much, only a self assemble tent the Hephaestus cabin made and some sleeping bags. Bailey said he would take the first watch and I didn't argue, I was tired and wanted to sleep.

As soon as my head hit the pillow I started dreaming.

I was eight years old again and back home in the charity shop my mom owned. I was a hot summer's day in Alabama and I was out the back of the store having a water fight with Ethan, my big brother. He was already sixteen at this time but he would always play with me. He would always make sure I was okay, that I had enough to eat and drink even though we were only just getting by with the money mom earned.

The sun was high in the sky when mom called us in for lunch. The two of ran in and sat with her at the table in the tiny kitchen. My mom did this every day when there wasn't school; she would close the store for an hour at lunch and spend the time with her two sons.

We hadn't been sat at the table long when there was a knock on the door. It wasn't unusual, sometimes mom got customers what didn't see the closed sign. Mom did what she would normally do, get up and kindly explain that they should come back in an hour. However this time, before my mom could even open her mouth,  
Before I could even register what was going on Ethan grabbed my hand and we were running towards the door. Ethan opened it only to find another teenage boy and a girl standing there, blocking our escape. The girl lifted her hand and blew a green dust into my brother's face. He hand went cold and he dropped to the ground, dead.

Overwhelmed by what had just happened to my mom and brother I ran at the girl and started to hit her with my little fists. It didn't do anything but anger the boy stood with her. He grabbed me and held his sword to my throat. He was about to kill me as well when the boy who killed my mother came running into the room.

'Wait!' he yelled, 'don't kill him, he's important, we need him.' The boy who was yelling was no more than fourteen, and the boy holding me and the girl were only a few years older.

The older boy growled under his breath and pushed me towards the younger boy. 'Who put you in charge Alex?' The older boy snapped.

'No one,' the younger boy, Alex, replied grabbing my wrist. 'But we need this kid, he's powerful.'

'I hope your right,' the girl said as she walked out the back door. The older boy grunted and followed her.

'Come on kid,' Alex said to me. 'You're coming with us.' He started to pull me towards the door but I wasn't going to go without a fight. I bit the boy on his hand and he yelled out in pain releasing me. As soon as he let go I ran, past my brother, past my mother and out the shop door. I heard the boy swear as I ran away.

I woke up to find my whole body coved in a cold sweat. I hated that dream but unfortunately I had it nearly every night. I hated the fact that I was reminded how my mom and brother died every time I went to sleep.

I looked sat up in the tent to find it empty. Where was Emma? I looked at my watch; it said 9:34am. Had I really been asleep that long? Once again I had left Emma and Bailey to do everything without me.

I started to get ready slowly. It was only when I heard Bailey yell did I speed up. I quickly threw on my camp T-shirt, grabbed my bow and arrows and scrabbled out of the tent.

As soon as I was out I mounted my bow and aimed it in the direction of the yell. I was about to shoot when I saw the cause of Bailey's distress. Emma had pinned him up against the tree and looked like she was about to beat him half to death, she was furious.

Bailey on the other hand looked terrified and flinched anytime Emma made a slight  
movement. I felt sorry for him. He was obviously just starting to trust the two of us and now  
Emma was going to beat him up.

Didn't understand why.

'What's going on?' I asked them as I lowered my bow.

Emma kept her gaze on Bailey. 'He won't tell me the prophecy he was given,' she said in a tone so angry it made me a little scared.


	6. Chapter 6: Bailey

I guess I wasn't a very good look out because Emma had crept up on me and I hadn't even noticed. I was just watching out for monsters one second and the next I was pined against a tree with Emma's face only inches from mine.

She pressed hard palms into my shoulders. 'What's the prophecy?' she whispered.

I didn't reply; I just stared at her blankly hoping she would think I had gone mute again. It didn't work and she leaned in closer.

'Tell me the prophecy you were given Bailey.' It was still a whisper but there was something harsh in her voice.

Again I stayed silent hoping she would just give up. I knew she wouldn't though. My father had told me about Emma before we had left. Emma was the smartest person at camp half blood. She was nice but if she wanted to know something she would go to any lengths to know it. Emma is not someone you want as an enemy.

Getting tired of my lack of answers Emma pushed me hard against the tree again. I cried out as she did and closed my eyes tight. I found myself flinching when she moved her arm. I was being stupid, I knew Emma wasn't going to hurt me but I couldn't help it. Old habits die hard.

I heard Theo stumble out of the tent. He started to talk to Emma, asking what she was doing. I opened my eyes; Emma was no longer focused on me.

'Let him go,' Theo said walking over to the two of us. 'Can't you see he's scared?'

Emma looked at me again and her face softened, she no longer looked like she wanted to kill me. She sighed and stepped away.

I collapsed to my knees and buried my fingers in the grass. I was shaking and I could hear myself breathing heavily. I was cold, freezing in fact. My already pale hands had turned a ghostly white and grape vines had sprung from the ground and were winding round my arms. I could feel Emma and Theo's eyes on me, they had no idea what was happening. Neither did I, not really. My father had warned it would happen if someone I trusted turned on me. That's why he told me about Emma.

I tried to control it, but it was hard, giving into it would be easier. Giving into the pain and madness inside my own head. I crumpled onto my side shivering, trying to get control. I could feel the vines slowly climbing up my legs as I lay on the ground. It was coming, I could feel it. I was about to black out.  
_  
NO!_ I screamed inside my head, trying to stop it. It wasn't working. I was starting to see things, snippets from my childhood. I was six, I could see my mum standing with her boy friend, wine glass in hand, looking down at me, laughing. Then I was seven, back at my school in England, mum was yelling at a teacher, I was crying in the corner. I was ten, back with my mum's boyfriend, he was yelling at me, he put the chain round my skinny ankle, he left, I was in darkness. Now I was eleven, in America, with Alex, his sword was at my neck, my hands were tied, he wanted me to use my powers, what powers.

I was only half aware of myself screaming as more and more painful memories came. They were of my mum and her boyfriend and the beatings and the chains in the basement. I tried but I couldn't control them, they were over powering me. I tried to do what dad had said to do, focus on the ones you trust. But that was hard considering I didn't have many people that I fully trusted. I had to try though otherwise I would end up insane.

I pictured their faces blocking out the memories of my horrible childhood. There was only the two of them but it seemed to be working, the painful memories were being replaced. I was thirteen, with my dad, he was smiling, the only time I have ever seen him smile, he patted me on the back, he was proud of me. Then I was twelve, there was Thalia and the hunters of Artimes, we were sat at a campfire, she gave me a blanket, she smiled, she put her arm round my skinny shoulders.

Then suddenly it was all gone, the pain, the madness, dad and Thalia. The only thing that was left was my mother. It was her fault his had happened. Not mine, not Emma's, not even dads. It was hers; she was the one who had made me like this. It was all her fault and even if she was alive she wouldn't care.

I opened my eyes to see Emma and Theo crouched over me. Their expressions were a mix of worry and fear. Emma eyes were puffy like she had been crying. I tried to sit up but the vines were still wrapped round my arms and legs. Emma Quickly grabbed her dagger and cut them off me, they withered and died as I sat up.

'Bailey. Oh gods are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't mean to...' Emma's grey eyes filled with tears. I didn't understand that girl, one minute she was making sure I got away, then she was trying to kill me and now she was crying.

Theo handed me some ambrosia but I turned it away, it couldn't heal me.

I leant against a tree and took a big shaky breath. I was still freezing cold and shaking but the madness had gone from my mind. I said a silent prayer of thanks to my father for helping me through it, even if he didn't know he had.

Theo knelt down beside me. 'Are you okay man?' he asked, his golden eyes shining with concern. I nodded but didn't say anything. I was scared if I did I would either scream or start crying.

Theo patted me on the shoulder and went back over to the tent and started to pack it away. My father had told me all about him just like he had with Emma. Theo was the nicest guy at camp but that was because of his past. He felt like he had to protect everyone. He was also very powerful, according to my father, but no one knows the extent of his powers yet. Apparently he's going to be nearly as powerful as Percy Jackson.

I looked over to Emma who was standing with her back to me. From where I was I could tell she was trying not to cry. She thought it was her fault I had had my breakdown. I wasn't, it was my mum's, but she didn't know that.

I slowly got to my feet and walked over to her. 'Emma,' I said as I stopped behind her.

She spun round wiping the tears from her eyes. 'I'm so sorry Bailey,' she sniffed.

'It wasn't you fault.' I replied.

'Yes it was, if I had-'

I cut her off. 'No it wasn't,' I said more forcefully.

She didn't reply and wiped another tear away.

She was obviously upset, but there was more, she was scared, she was scared because she didn't know the prophecy. I looked her straight in the eye. I didn't want to tell her the prophecy; if I did it would mean that it was real, that we were on this quest for a reason.

I called Theo over, took a deep breath and began to recite it:  
_  
Madness strikes in the driest storm,_  
_Six days before he shows his true form,_  
_Hand in hand walk the owl and sun,_  
_The dead ones likes will be undone,_  
_With lost friends found at burning rocks,_  
_And beware the curse of Pandora's box._


End file.
